Safe.



S.L.CARY.

SAFE. APPLICATION FlLED.lAN- I3. 1915- Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

p ear an'r Janina SHERMAN L. GARY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 'IO CARY SAFE COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SAFE.

Application filed January 13, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SHERMAN L. CARY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safes, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in burglar-proof safes and vaults and more especially to those of the type having a round door provided with lugs adapted to be locked and unlocked relatively to corresponding lugs in the door openingof the safe by partial rotation of the door, and the primary object of the invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement of such locking or securing lugs whereby a greater area of locking surface is obtained, thus insuring greater security in the fastening of the door, and the degree of rotation of the door necessary to lock and unlock it is materially reduced, thus facilitating the locking and unlocking operations and enabling these operations to be accomplished quickly.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements, and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the accompanying drawing :Figure 1 represents a horizontal section through a safe embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the safe, the door being shown in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and in unlocked condition;

Fig. 3 represents a section of the door on the line 22 of Fig. 1 and showing the door and the cooperating lugs on the wall of the door opening in locked condition; Fig. 4 represents a section on the line 44 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing diagrammatically the relation of the lugs on the door and the body of the safe when such lugs are in locked condition; Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing means for rotating the door to lock and unlock it.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several views.

The door securing means provided by the present invention is shown in the present instance as applied to a burglar-proof safe which comprises a body 1 having a chamber Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1%, 1916.

Serial No. 2,063.

2 for the contents, and the safe is supported by a stand or pedestal 3. Preferably, the body of the safe is of a generally circular form and is provided in its front wall with a door opening 4 through which access is had to the chamber 2. The door opening 4 is preferably conical, it flaring or increasing in diameter toward the front of the safe, and this door opening is adapted to be closed by a door 5 which is circular or, more correctly speaking, is conical in exterior form to appropriately fit the conical door opening. The door is formed toward its forward end with a rim 6 which is preferably ground or otherwise fitted closely to the forward portion of the door opening 4, thereby preventing the introduction of exploslves into the safe or the application of wedges or other tools to pry open the door.

According to the present invention, (:0- operative lugs are arranged in the door opening and on the door to lock and unlock the latter, the locking and unlocking of the door being effected by a partial rotation of the door. Heretofore, locking lugs have been provided for a similar purpose, but in those cases, the locking lugs projected equidistantly from the periphery of the door and from the wall of the door opening and necessitated rotation of the door'to an extent equal to the peripheral length of the lugs, and in those cases, the aggregate area of the locking surface afforded by the lugs was necessarily limited not to exceed one-half of the peripheral dimension of the door. The present invention provides a novel construction and arrangement of locking lugs whereby an increased aggregate area of locking surface is afforded and at the same time the extent of rotation of the door to lock or unlock it is materially reduced. In the construction shown, the door is provided with two sets of radially projecting lugs 7 and 8, the lugs 7 being of a greater heightthan the lugs 8, and the lugs 7 are arranged in pairs opposite to one another while the lugs 8 are arranged adjacent to the lugs 7 and in opposite pairs. The lugs 7 and 8 are arranged in two peripheral series on the inner portion of the door, spaces 9 being formed or left between each set of lugs which comprises a pair of the relatively higher lugs 7 and a pair of relatively shallow lugs 8. Furthermore, the lugs 7 and 8 are all formed separately with respect to one another and they are separated at their adjacent ends by slots or spaces 10.

While I have shown and described two annular series of lugs 7' and 8, it will be understood that one annular series or a greater number of series of such lugs could be used. The inner wall of the door opening 4- is provided with two series of lugs 11 and 12, the lugs 11 being higher or projecting inwardly to a greater extent than the lugs 12, and the lugs 11 are arranged in pairs opposite to one another while the lugs 12 are similarly arranged in opposite pairs, spaces 13 being formed or left between each set of lugs composed of a pair of lugs 11 and a pair of lugs 12. The lugs 11 and 12 are also formed separately from one another and are separated at their adjacent ends by the slots or spaces 14.

The relative size and arrangement of the lugs on the door and those within the door opening are such that the door may move freely into and out of the door opening when the door occupies a position with the relatively higher lugs 7 thereon in alinement with the spaces 13 between the lugs in the door opening, the lugs 7 then moving axially into the spaces 13 and the relatively shallower lugs 8 on the door moving past the relatively shallower lugs 12 in the door opening. The door when in this position is unlocked and may be opened or closed by a substantially axial movement relatively to the door opening. Fig. 2 shows the door in unlocked condition, and locking of the door is effected by a partial rotation of the door, for example in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2, such partial rotation of the door carrying it into the position shown in Fig. 3 where the relatively higher lugs 7 on the door occupy positions in rear of the relatively shallower lugs 12 in the door opening and the relatively shallower lugs 8 on the door occupy positions in rear of the relatively higher lugs 11 in the door opening. The door when in this position is locked and its locking surface is commensurate with the aggregate area presented by the contact of the lugs 7 and 8 on the door with the lugs 11 and 12 in the door opening. As the spaces 9 and 13 require a width just suflicient to permit passage of the lugs 11 and 12 respectively, it is obvious that the unlocked surface of the door is reduced to a minlmum as compared with prlor constructions employing locking lugs of equal heights. For example, in the construction shown, the door is locked to an aggregate of about 240 of its circumference, the unlocked periphery of the door aggregating only about 120, and, furthermore, the necessary rotation of the door to lock and unlock it is reduced to approximately 30. In order that the lugs on the door and within the door opening may be of the maximum height, without interference in passing one another, their peripheral surfaces are preferably made conical or tapered, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4-.

Any suitable means may be employed for rotating the door to lock and unlock it and for supporting the door while in open position. In the construction shown, a carrier 15 is provided, it being hinged to the front of the safe at 16 and provided with pivots 17 which cooperate at the top and bottom with a door supporting ring or member 18. This ring has a bearing 19 which cooperates with a hub 20 on the forward end of the door whereby the latter is supported and may rotate within the ring. The forward end of the door is also provided with a gear sector 21 with which a pinion 22 meshes, the pinion being suitably journaled in the ring 18 and has a socket or squared end 23 to receive a wrench or other appropriate tool for rotating it. By applying any suitable wrench or tool to the pinion 22 and rotating the latter, the door is rotated, either to lock or unlock it, and the carrier 15 serves to guide and support the door when moving into and out of the door opening and to support the door when the latter is swung laterally to permit access to the interior of the safe or vault.

It is to be understood that any suitable means may be employed for locking the door against turning when it is in fastened condition, it being common and well known to employ a combination or time lock for such purposes and hence it is unnecessary to show and describe the same.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a safe having a circular door, and a correspondingly shaped door opening, the combination of axially spaced series of lugs on the door, the lugs of each series being formed separately and spaced circumferentially relatively to one another and also arranged in groups of different heights, and corresponding axially spaced series of lugs projecting inwardly from the wall of the door opening and arranged to occupy the axial space between the series of lugs on the door when the latter is in closed position, the door being rotatable to lock and unlock the lugs thereon relatively to those in the door opening.

2. In a safe having a circular rotatable door and a correspondingly shaped door opening to receive it, the combination of series of locking lugs on the periphery of the door and on the wall of the door opening respectively, circumferential spaces intervening between the respective series of lugs the lugs of each series being arranged in groups of different heights, the lugs of greater height being spaced circumferentially from the lugs of lesser height, the lugs of greater height in each series on the door being engaged and disengaged relatively to those of lesser height in the other series on the Wall of the door opening by relative rotation of the door.

3. The combination of a safe having a substantially conical door opening, the larger diameter of such opening being disposed toWard the front of the safe, a door having a substantially conical periphery and mounted to enter said door opening from the front of the safe, the door having on its periphery a plurality of series of axially spaced lugs, a space intervening between said series of lugs, the lugs of each series being spaced circumferentially relatively to one another and arranged in groups of different heights, and a corresponding plurality of series of lugs projecting inwardly from the Wall of the door opening, the latter series of lugs being spaced axially of the door opening and the lugs of each latter series being spaced circumferentially and arranged in groups of different heights, the axially spaced series of lugs on the door lying in different planes relatively to the respective series of lugs on the Wall of the door opening When the door is in closed position, and the series of lugs on the door being engaged behind the respective axially spaced series of lugs on the Wall of the' door opening by a relative rotation of the door.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

SHERMAN L. CARY.

Witnesses:

ALBERT W. SMITH, HARVEY G. BUSH.

copies of thia patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatenta, Washington. D. G." 

